Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions is a 2012 box set of albums by Billy Bragg & Wilco, all of which feature songs consisting of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie set to newly created music. It was released by Nonesuch Records on Record Store Day to commemorate Guthrie's 100th birthday.
The set contains all of the tracks from the previously released Mermaid Avenue (1998) and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000), as well as a third disc of outtakes from the original album sessions in 1997 and 1998. A DVD containing the documentary Man in the Sand (1999), which is about the "Mermaid Avenue" project, is included as a fourth disc.
Reception
On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the set has an average score of 85 based on 12 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim"."Critic Reviews for Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-09-20. The A.V. Club gave it an A−.
Track listing
Disc 4: Man in the Sand (DVD)
Personnel Billy Bragg – guitar, vocals Jay Bennett – organ, bouzouki, clavinet, piano, drums, background vocals Ken Coomer – percussion, drums John Stirratt – piano, bass, background vocals Jeff Tweedy – guitar, harmonica, vocals
Additional musicians Eliza Carthy – violin Bob Egan – slide guitar Corey Harris – vocals, guitar, lap steel guitar Ben Ivitsky – viola Natalie Merchant – vocals Peter Yanowitz – drums Leroy Bach - piano
See also Mermaid Avenue (1998) Man in the Sand (1999) Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000) Wonder Wheel (2006) Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah (2006) The Works (Jonatha Brooke album) (2008) New Multitudes (2012)
References
External links Press release from Nonesuch Records